Awards & Accolades

Award Winning StaffEl Rey Inn's head gardener Anthony Jimenez won a Stars of the Industry Award at the New Mexico Lodgers' Association 2011 Convention. Anthony captured the 1st Place Award for Excellence.

The award was given for "Special Category in Hospitality". Anthony has been a familiar face at the inn for the last 18 years. He takes care of the inn's gardens, greenhouse, decorative lighting, and just about anything that needs attention. The roof line of the inn's greenhouse is visible in the rose photo above. The photo below shows this spring's plants inside the greenhouse.

El Rey is proud of Anthony for his achievements, good nature and hard work.

Community InvolvementEl Rey Inn’s spirit of responsibility has evolved through three generations in the hospitality industry, and active involvement in the Southwest. El Rey shares in the care of both the Santa Fe community and the environment.

The inn’s outreach is exemplified by its commitment to its employees’ well-being, charitable involvement throughout northern New Mexico, environmental stewardship, and the health and safety of both guests and staff.

El Rey promotes health, safety, diversity and high ethics in the workplace. Many staff members have been with the inn for a very long time, and we work to make each guest feel welcome. You are appreciated!

Winning the “2012 Family Friendly Business” award was another exciting, rewarding experience for everyone associated with El Rey. Long known for its community and employee commitment, El Rey provides a safe, friendly, productive work environment for all of its employees.

Accolades

"...El Rey Inn on Cerrillos Road does it so well that The New York Times recommended it as "retro-chic" for a weekend getaway, and Sunset Magazine says the 1930s-era motel gives the traveler a Santa Fe experience at a bargain price."

"...We drove to our room, parking in front of the brightly painted turquoise door—exactly like the kind of motor courts my parents used to stay at when we did road trips back in the day. I still love the convenience of such places: no wandering down long corridors, or having to put on shoes to make a trip to the vehicle when you forgot something...."

LONELY PLANET 2013 November 2012

"A highly recommended classic courtyard hotel, with super rooms, a great pool and hot tub, and even a kids' playground scattered around 5 acres of greenery. The inn recycles and takes a lot of green-friendly steps to conserve resources. Most rooms have air conditioning."

MOON HANDBOOKS / Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque May 2012

"EL REY INN, about two miles from the plaza, counts as one of the best hotels in Santa Fe based on charm alone..."

"Sprawled across 5 acres off Cerrillos Road near the intersection with St. Michael's Drive, El Rey is known for its lavish gardens and grounds, its superb free breakfasts, its winding roads and secluded room complexes, its intensively Southwestern decor and its immaculate cleanliness."

DisneyFamily.com August 2011"An old-style Route 66 hotel a few miles from downtown, the El Rey is exceedingly popular with families for the lush gardens, great pool, cool patios, playground, and relaxed, old-time motor-court atmosphere. Rooms are individually decorated with quaint and colorful style, this is the place that will have your kids asking, 'Where was that cool motel we stayed at?' for years to come."

SUNSET MAGAZINE May 2011The West's Best Hotel Deals: 50 hotels under $150 -- Southwest"...we're proud to include your business (El Rey Inn) in the latest issue of Sunset. Your hard work and creativity deserve to be recognized by people all over the West."

"What began as a humble 12-room motor court in 1936 (back when Route 66 ran past it) has grown into a decidedly offbeat five-acre compound comprising 86 rooms in every imaginable configuration and style. Funky but immaculate rooms are set around the property in small clusters, shrouded by cottonwood trees and fragrant gardens and with access to both a heated pool (open spring to fall) and two cloistered, sunken hot tubs (open year-round)."

Images of America: SANTA FE'S HISTORIC HOTELS

"El Rey Inn is a classic 1936 Route 66 motor court, as motels were termed at the time. The original 12 rooms, with individual carports, were built of adobe on what was then the outskirts of Santa Fe, although only three miles from the plaza. ...El Rey retains its original character but now has extensive gardens, secluded rooms away from the highway, free breakfasts, Southwestern decor (it is adobe after all), beautiful Mexican tile work, and immaculate cleanliness."